Cambodia

Cambodia. . , A dark era befell Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge, under the dictator Pol Pot, ruled the country from 1975 to 1979. Pol Pot's genocidal regime led to the deaths of nearly 2 million people out of a population of just 7 million. So many people were executed and buried in mass graves throughout the country that large areas became known as the "killing fields"., In October 1979, tens of thousands of Cambodians fled across the border into Thailand. Governor and Mrs. Ray were on a trip to Thailand and saw, first-hand, the terrible suffering of nearly 30,000 starving and emaciated Cambodian refugees. Governor Ray's photos landed on the front page of the state's newspapers. The outpouring of concern led him to create Iowa SHARES and Iowans contributed close to $2 million to rush food, medicine and volunteer nurses and doctors to save thousands and thousands of Cambodian refugees., Approximately 225 Cambodian families were resettled in Iowa during the late 1970s and early 80s. Most of them do not know about the Rays' visit to the camp or Iowa SHARES. We were grateful to provide the leadership to capture this important history. Three significant educational and cultural initiatives were founded:, . The Iowa Asian Alliance (IAA), an economic development group uniting the state's diverse Asian American communities under one umbrella., . CelebrAsian, the state's Annual Asian Heritage Festival, . "A Promise Called Iowa", a documentary produced by Iowa Public Television centered on the legacy of Governor Ray and the Walker family who welcomed Southeast Asian refugees to their Iowa "home"., The Robert D. Ray Asian Garden, together with these events and organizations, will preserve this important aspect of Iowa's humanitarian heritage far into the future., –Kim Poam